Withdrawal and Ambush

When Mo Chen rushed in, his hair looked like it had been blown out of shape.

"All done." He slammed a patterned metal plate onto the table. "We found the frequency of the tracking mark, and grafted it into this scrap. The signal is 30% stronger than before, and we can control its direction; it lasts for twelve hours."

Lu Yuan picked up the metal sheet; it was icy to the touch, and its surface had a dim, periodic, flowing light.

Shen Moxin adjusted her glasses. "Can Listening Wind Pavilion detect the alteration?"

"Difficult." Mo Chen rubbed the grease off his hands. "Unless they have original samples for real-time comparison."

Lu Yuan turned to Lin Xiao and unfolded the map Gray Harrier had given him. "Your route is this one." He traced an arc at an angle to the secret passage with his finger. "Pass through the Iron Armored Poison Scorpion's lair. Drop the items at the edge and immediately turn back. Let the Cloud Mist Sect people 'find' their way in."

Lin Xiao licked his canine teeth. "Interesting."

"The risk is very high."

"Don't worry." Lin Xiao cracked his knuckles. "I'm best at running away."

Shen Moxin hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. "This is tantamount to actively revealing our location..."

"There's no time." Lu Yuan put away the map. "Gray Harrier said to conduct a net search by the morning after tomorrow at the latest. This 'return gift' can severely damage the pursuers and also verify whether the 'device weakness' he gave us is genuine—if they are indeed lured to the scorpion's nest, it means the intelligence is reliable, and the secret passage will be one step safer."

He paused.

Thirdly, tell Listening Wind Pavilion: We are not pawns. We received their 'gifts,' and we've already 'used' them.

The oil lamp crackled.

"Begin preparations," Lu Yuan ordered. "Su Yan, Wangye, organize all research notes and Soul Marrow Essence, wrap them in oilcloth and distribute them separately. Teacher Shen, you assist my father. Uncle Mo, only bring the most essential blueprints and parts."

The crowd dispersed silently.

Early morning, at the bottom of the mine pit.

The cold wind howled, the sky was Mo Lan with only a few cold stars. Each person carried a small bag, their face tense.

Lin Xiao changed into a dark gray bodysuit and smeared black ash on his face. He took the metal plate and stuffed it into his pocket, then took the small leather pouch that Lu Yuan handed him—it contained three antidote pills and a simple topographical map.

"Take care of yourself."

"You too," Lin Xiao said with a smirk, "Don't die before me."

With a swift movement, he disappeared into the pile of rocks like a gray shadow, and fell silent a few breaths later.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze. "Let's go."

The entrance to the secret passage was hidden beneath a giant rock. Moving aside the stone slab revealed a narrow opening, barely wide enough for one person to bend over. It was pitch black inside, and the air smelled of earth.

Lu Yuan led the way, the glowing Blue Silver Grass in his palm illuminating the path for a few steps. The passage was narrow and winding, requiring people to squeeze sideways in some places, with water seeping from above and the ground slippery underfoot. The group moved forward in silence, with only suppressed breathing and the rustling of clothes against the rock walls.

After walking for about half an hour, several pairs of tiny red eyes appeared ahead— Burrowing Rat. Lu Yuan flicked a few thin vines from his fingertips, precisely strangling the leader of the group, while the rest squeaked and burrowed into the rock crevices.

The procession continued forward.

Shen Moxin supported Lu Qinghe, taking each step very carefully. The old man was sweating profusely, gritting his teeth.

Time passed slowly in the darkness.

At the same moment, Lin Xiao sped through the mountains.

He deliberately chose complex routes: rocky slopes, withered forests, and ravines. Each step left a slight disturbance of Soul Power —an unavoidable "byproduct" of the metal plate releasing signals. He wanted to lead the pursuers along these tracks to their destination.

As dawn broke, he arrived at the marked area.

A sweet, fishy smell mingled with the metallic rust of the air. Ahead lay a gently sloping, jagged rock face riddled with holes, the edges of which were smooth and littered with fragments of dark brown carapace.

The lair of the Iron Armored Poison Scorpion.

Lin Xiao lay prone behind the giant rock, his vertical pupils narrowed to slits as he observed. At least thirty or forty venomous scorpions, each as long as an adult's arm, were swimming about; their carapaces were dark iron-colored, and their stingers were a deep blue. Deeper inside the large cave entrance, an even larger shadow was writhing.

The scorpion king is deep within its nest.

He waited patiently, seizing the opportunity when the two outermost scorpions were patrolling in a crisscross pattern, and shot out like lightning!

His toes barely touched the protruding rock, almost silently. In the blink of an eye, he reached the edge of the gentle slope, flicked his wrist, and the metal sheet arced through the air, landing precisely in the center of a pile of shell fragments.

The engravings were slightly shiny.

The signal continues to be released.

Without pausing, Lin Xiao used the momentum to push off and veered into the thicket of thorns. His movements were so fast that only a blur remained.

Almost the next second after he left, two nearby scorpions turned toward the debris, their chelicerae rubbing together and making a soft "click" sound.

Lin Xiao disappeared into the thicket of thorns without looking back.

He ran in a large circle towards the meeting point.

***

At noon, the Cloud Mist Sect search team arrived at the outskirts of Old Crow Ridge.

There were about twenty people, led by Gao Yue, a middle-aged Soul King with a sinister face. He held a compass-shaped soul tool, the pointer of which trembled and pointed to the west.

"The signal is ahead," Gao Yue said hoarsely. "The fluctuations are weak but stable."

The Soul Ancestor beside him leaned closer. "The clue from the Listening Wind Pavilion says the target has anti-detection techniques; be wary of any abnormal 'blank areas' in Soul Power."

Gao Yue snorted and patted the ancient bronze bell at his waist. "Playing tricks. It's all a joke in front of a replica of the ' Soul Suppression Bell '."

"Follow the signal direction, pursue."

The team advanced in a fan shape, and soon discovered subtle disturbances in Soul Power and the occasional broken dry branch.

"The traces are fresh." The Soul Ancestor, skilled in tracking, crouched down to examine them. "No more than three hours have passed. The other party didn't deliberately erase the tracks completely."

Gao Yue frowned. This was unusual. But the pointer was pointing clearly, and the signal was moving. Perhaps the other party had been careless? Or perhaps they were too rushed to react?

He hesitated for a moment, but still decided to pursue it. The sect had given a death order, and this was the only way to break through.

The team sped up.

In the afternoon, on a gentle slope near the nest of the Iron Armored Poison Scorpion.

The sweet, fishy smell has become too strong.

Gao Yue stopped and sniffed. "The scent of Soul Beast."

The compass needle vibrated more violently here, pointing directly at the gentle slope.

"The signal source is inside the lair?" the Soul Grandmaster asked anxiously. "Could it be a trap?"

Gao Yue stared at the compass, then at the holes and fragments of the shell.

"Iron Armored Poison Scorpion." He recognized it, his eyes lighting up. "It's territorial and usually doesn't stray far. If the target really does hide in its nest..."

He sneered.

"That makes things easier. They'll either get killed by the scorpions, or we'll trap them. Give the order: activate the soul-guiding shields, watch out for the scorpion venom. Push in and drag out the 'rat'!"

The team members activated their simple soul-guided shields, a pale white light membrane enveloping their bodies. They formed a defensive formation and carefully stepped onto the gentle slope.

At first, a few scorpions on the periphery were startled, rubbing their pincers together as a warning.

Gao Yue was too lazy to argue. He unleashed his Soul Power and struck out with his palm. The force of his palm sent two poisonous scorpions flying, their carapaces shattering.

This stirred up a hornet's nest.

From the dozens of holes on the gentle slope, a dense swarm of dark iron-colored figures emerged! Adult scorpions, young scorpions, and several exceptionally large scorpion kings with metallic sheen on their carapaces!

The hissing and rubbing sounds blended together.

Gao Yue's expression changed. "So many?"

Before the words were even finished, the first few Scorpion King guards charged forward fearlessly! Their stingers transformed into eerie blue afterimages, piercing the shield with a sizzling, corrosive sound. The shield flashed violently.

"Form ranks! Defend!" Gao Yue shouted, his Martial Soul Possession manifesting as a giant, earth-yellow bear phantom appeared. He slammed his fists, imbued with heavy Soul Power, towards the charging scorpion guard.

The battle erupted instantly.

The scorpions were too numerous and fearless. They swarmed in from all directions, attacking relentlessly with their stingers and pincers. The Soul Ancestor and Soul Grandmaster were locked in a fierce battle, and their shields began to crack under the relentless assault.

A Soul Grandmaster was grazed on the calf by a side stinger. His shield hadn't completely blocked it, and a trace of dark blue venom seeped in. He screamed in agony as his entire leg went numb, and he staggered to the ground. Three or four scorpions immediately pounced...

The screams stopped abruptly.

Gao Yue's eyes turned red. "Beast!"

He unleashed his Soul Power, his fifth Soul Ring lit up, and the giant bear phantom roared to the sky, the shockwave spreading out and blasting away more than a dozen poisonous scorpions around him.

But more scorpions filled the gap. A deep, terrifying scraping sound came from the deepest part of the nest, from the largest opening. A ferocious figure, as big as a calf and with a dark golden carapace, slowly crawled out.

The Millennium Scorpion King!

Its compound eyes stared at the Gao Yue, its chelicerae were raised high, and its tail stinger slowly rose, the tip of which gathered a heart-stopping deep blue light.

Gao Yue's heart sank.

This is a huge problem.

In the evening, Lin Xiao caught up with the main team at the rendezvous point.

Hidden in a mountain valley, with a stream, the team is resting.

Lin Xiao fell from the treetop, his clothes covered in grass and dust, his eyes shining with an astonishing light.

"Done." He took the water pouch and gulped down a large mouthful. "I tossed the remains near the scorpion's nest. When I circled back, I saw the Cloud Mist Sect members arriving at the outer edge of the lair. At least twenty of them, led by Soul King."

He paused, a smile playing on his lips.

"They pushed right in. When I left, a fight had already broken out, and it was quite a commotion."

Shen Moxin a sigh of relief, but was still filled with lingering fear. "They... their losses must be huge, right?"

"The Iron Armored Poison Scorpion's lair isn't so easy to break into." Lin Xiao sat down against a rock. "Especially if the Scorpion King is alerted, the Soul King will be severely injured, if not killed. They won't be able to catch up in a short time."

Lu Yuan nodded without saying a word.

Using the scorpion swarm to weaken the pursuers, their objective was achieved. The Gray Harrier's intelligence on the "device's weakness" indirectly confirmed that if the device were sensitive enough, it should have detected the gathering of Soul Beast in the nest earlier, Cloud Mist Sect wouldn't have rushed in so recklessly. They still relied on tracking signals.

The secret passage provides an extra layer of security.

"Let's rest for fifteen minutes," Lu Yuan announced, "And then continue our journey. We're about ten miles from the exit; we must arrive before nightfall."

The team quietly packed their belongings.

The sky darkened, fog rose from the mountains and forests, and damp, cold air filled the air, reducing visibility.

The team set off again. Lin Xiao led the way, his night vision and intuition giving him an advantage.

The last stretch was even more difficult. There was almost no established path; one had to constantly climb steep slopes, traverse dense vine forests, and navigate deep crevices. Everyone was exhausted, but no one complained.

As night fell completely, a narrow crevice in the rocks appeared ahead, obscured by thick vines.

Exit of the secret passage.

Lin Xiao was the first to push aside the vines and slip inside. The others followed in turn.

Beyond the crevice in the rocks lies a small, flat valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a faint path leading deeper into the forest. A stream flows through the center of the valley, with stones scattered along its banks.

An ideal temporary campsite.

As the group filed out and stepped onto the soft soil of the valley, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally... we're safe for now.

Lin Xiao habitually leaped onto a higher rock, his amber-colored vertical pupils scanning his surroundings.

My gaze swept across the dark forests at the edge of the valley.

Suddenly, his body froze.

Lu Yuan, who was arranging for Su Yan and Li Wangye under the rocks, keenly sensed something amiss.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a low voice.

Lin Xiao didn't turn around, but slowly raised his hand, making a "quiet" gesture.

He crouched low, his vertical pupils fixed on the northeast corner of the valley, in the shadow where the forest met the rocks.

A few seconds later, he silently slid down the rock and landed next to Lu Yuan, his voice extremely low and tense with disbelief.

"There's a fire ahead..."

His Adam's apple bobbed.

"There are... human voices. More than one."

Lu Yuan's heart sank.